﻿THE OSTRICH. 





>-*'* - _ .z- TS~ y yvt 



The Ostrich. 



WHAT a strange-looking bird ! One would think that the two 

 represented in the picture were running a race ; but probably they are 

 trying to escape from some hunters. The hunters capture them for 

 the beautiful feathers in their wings. As the ostrich runs with 

 almost incredible speed, the hunters could never catch them, 

 although they are mounted upon the fleetest of horses, were it not 

 for the fact that the silly birds, instead of running straight forward, 

 keep running round and round in a circle. Nor is this the only 

 foolish trick they have, for sometimes, when hotly pursued, they will 

 plunge their heads into the sand, and stand with their bodies per- 

 fectly exposed, thinking, probably, that they are out of all danger, 

 while the hunters speedily come up with and slay them. 



The ostrich is an inhabitant of the great deserts of the east. It 

 has been called the camel-bird, in consequence of its powerful legs ; 



